Method and system for updating physical location information

ABSTRACT

A method and system for updating physical location data associated with a user data-communications endpoint device is implemented in a variety of embodiments. In one such embodiment, the endpoint device stores an identifier for a packet-communicating device which is subject to changing. The endpoint device has an interface for communication over the Internet via the packet-communicating device and uses a circuit-implemented method for prompting an update of physical location data associated with the endpoint device. In response to a communications connectivity-state transition and a change in the stored identifier, the endpoint device facilitates an update to the physical location data associated with the data-communications service.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to Voice-Over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony systems and the notification to VoIP customers that their physical location information must be updated with their service provider.

BACKGROUND

Telephony services are offered through a variety of avenues, such as landline phones, cellular phones, and more recently, Voice-Over-Internet Protocol (VoIP). VoIP is a relatively new telephony service that provides communications using Internet protocols rather than the traditional telephone service. VoIP service allows calls to be made to, and received from, traditional phone numbers using a high-speed (broadband) Internet connection (i.e., DSL, cable modem, or broadband wireless technology) instead of using the traditional telephone communication lines. VoIP is implemented by either placing an adapter between a traditional phone and broadband connection or by using a special VoIP phone that connects to a computer or Internet connection.

Traditional wireline phone services have generally associated a particular phone number with the fixed physical location of the corresponding telephone line. Cellular telephony services determine a cellular caller's physical location by associating the cellular phone with the physical location of the cellular network antenna with which the cellular customer's radio (telephone) is communicating. VoIP services, however, enable consumers to take their home or business phone service almost anywhere because VoIP services can be used from virtually any broadband connection anywhere in the world. This portability raises a number of challenges for the emergency services community in that it makes determining the location of a VoIP caller extremely difficult, if not impossible, because the only information transmitted across the Internet from VoIP callers is the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses associated with the call traffic. Currently there is not a reliable means of mapping an IP address to a precise physical location anywhere in the world.

Emergency 911 calls from a traditional telephone are usually sent to emergency service providers who are responsible for helping people in a particular geographic area or community. These emergency service providers often can automatically identify the caller's location and direct the closest emergency personnel to that location. They also often automatically identify the caller's telephone number so that the caller can be reached in the event the emergency call is disconnected.

Consumers with VoIP telephone service have experienced problems accessing 911 emergency services in the same manner as traditional communication services due to the lack of any physical location information associated with their telephone. In some instances, these problems were caused by the consumer failing to provide certain information (such as physical location information) to their VoIP provider in order for their VoIP provider to be able to set up 911 service or the consumer moving their VoIP service to another location without updating their physical location information with the VoIP service provider.

One proposed approach for alleviating these problems involves a communication cycle between a VoIP telephone adapter and a communication network where the VoIP telephone adapter communicates with the network once every twenty-four hours. Every time the telephone adapter is disconnected from a power source and reconnected, it communicates with the network to “check in,” and the communication cycle is reset. The network then identifies that the cycle has been reset and recognizes that this could mean that the VoIP telephone adapter, and consequently the customer, has changed locations. Therefore, upon detection of a shift in the communication cycle, the network temporarily suspends the customer's service and posts a message at the customer's web portal directing the customer to confirm the existing registered physical location information or to register a new physical address. Any calls attempted before this physical location information has been confirmed or changed are intercepted and require the caller to confirm or change the physical location information before a call can be completed. This suspension of service does not affect 911 calls, which continue to be associated with the previously registered physical location information.

This approach is dependent upon the timing of the communication signal from the telephone adapter and burdens the consumer by denying phone service until the physical location information is resolved. Further, this approach is initiated, for example, every time a customer powers on/off their system, loses power, reboots the router, or loses Internet connectivity; therefore the customer loses phone service after each of these occurrences, which in many cases are not the result of a location change and instead create a “false positive” trigger. This inconveniences the customer by suspending telephone service unnecessarily.

The above and other difficulties continue to present challenges to providing effective emergency 911 telephone services and protecting the public safety.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to overcoming the above-mentioned challenges and others related to the types of devices and applications discussed above. These and other aspects of the present invention are exemplified in a number of illustrated implementations and applications, some of which are shown in the figures and characterized in the claims section that follows.

In one embodiment, the VoIP endpoint device stores an identifier for a packet-based communicating device which is subject to changing. The VoIP endpoint device has an interface for communication over the Internet via the packet-based communicating device, and a circuit-implemented method for prompting a VoIP user to update physical location data associated with the VoIP endpoint device. In response to a power state transition and a change in the stored identifier, the VoIP endpoint device facilitates an update to the physical location data associated with the VoIP service.

In another example embodiment, a method includes a VoIP endpoint device that stores a previously-obtained router address and has an interface for communication with a router providing a current router address. The method prompts a VoIP user to update physical location data which is associated with the VoIP endpoint device and useful for an emergency services provider. To this end, the method determines that an endpoint device has experienced a power state transition. In response to the power state transition and as a function of the stored router address, the method determines whether the stored router address corresponds to the current router address. Upon determining that stored router address does not correspond to the current router address, the user is prompted to update the physical location data associated with the VoIP service.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, an endpoint device is used in connection with a VoIP telephony service that prompts a VoIP user to update physical location data associated with the user's VoIP service. The physical location data may be useful to an emergency services provider. The endpoint device includes non-volatile memory for storing a previously-obtained node address and a programmable circuit adapted to compare with the previously-obtained node address and to determine whether the current node address is different from the previously-obtained node address.

The above summary of the present invention is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the present invention. The figures and detailed description that follow more particularly exemplify these embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be more completely understood in consideration of the detailed description of various embodiments of the invention that follows in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram for determining whether physical location data should be updated with a VoIP service, according to an example embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method for updating the physical location data for a VoIP user, according to an example embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a VoIP device that prompts a VoIP user to update the physical location data of the user, according to example embodiments of the present invention.

While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is believed to be useful for aiding emergency-service providers in responding to VoIP telephone users by automatically prompting VoIP users to update their VoIP endpoint device's physical location data with their VoIP service. While the present invention is not necessarily limited to such applications, various aspects of the invention may be appreciated through a discussion of various examples using this context.

In an example embodiment of the present invention, a VoIP endpoint device recognizes a power-up situation and determines whether the endpoint device has changed geographic locations since the endpoint device's previous power-up. This determination is based on a change in an identifier corresponding to a packet-communicating device through which the VoIP endpoint device communicates. If there is no change in the identifier, the endpoint device has not changed locations; therefore, it is not necessary for the endpoint device's user to update the VoIP endpoint device's physical location data with the VoIP service provider. If, however, the identifier has changed, the endpoint device determines that it has moved to a new location and generates an output corresponding to the determination. This output may be used, for example, to prompt the user to update the device's physical location data with the VoIP service provider via a VoIP server.

The packet-communications device may communicate using packets of fixed length or variable length. The format of the packets may conform to any acceptable packet-based protocol and may vary based upon the VoIP service provider or other factors. In a specific example, the packet-based communications device may communicate using packets conforming to Internet-based protocols, such as IP-related packets.

The VoIP endpoint device is typically connected to a local communication device, such as a router or gateway that has one or more identifiers, such as media access control (“MAC”) addresses and IP addresses. MAC addresses are by design typically unique for each communications device and often static for a particular device. For this reason, a change in a MAC address of the local communications device is often associated with the physical movement of the VoIP endpoint device. In some instances, however, the communications device may be moved with the VoIP endpoint device. For example, in many homes Internet users have their own router which they may take with them to a new location. In these instances, the MAC address of the router might not change when the VoIP device is physically moved.

In another embodiment, the VoIP device may use an IP address to determine a possible change in location. In a specific example, the wide area network (“WAN”) address of a local communications device is used to determine if the VoIP device has been moved. The WAN address is usually determined by the upstream Internet-service-provider's location, and therefore, is subject to change when the VoIP device is moved.

In yet another embodiment, the VoIP device may use both the WAN and MAC addresses when determining whether the VoIP device has moved. For instance, if the MAC address has changed, it may be determined that the VoIP device has changed physical location regardless of the WAN address. Alternatively, if the MAC address has not changed but the WAN address has changed, it may be determined that the device has changed physical locations. Accordingly, the VoIP device may use other combinations of changes in the WAN and MAC address.

The aforementioned examples are not meant to be limiting. For example, various other device identifiers may be used, as well as using only portions of device identifiers (e.g., determining if a subnet of the WAN address has changed).

FIG. 1 shows a system and approach for updating the physical location data associated with a VoIP endpoint device, in accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention. Data is communicated among a VoIP endpoint device 110, an internet routing device 112, the Internet 114, a VoIP host server 116, and at least one emergency-service provider 118. When a VoIP endpoint device 110 experiences a power-up, it requests the address of the internet routing device 112 to which the endpoint device 110 is coupled. In one embodiment, the endpoint device 110 includes a processor that upon initialization (power-up) requests the address of the current internet routing device 112. In another embodiment, a circuit is designed to detect a power transition resulting in the endpoint device requesting the address of routing device 112. The endpoint device 110 uses this router address as an identifier for the internet routing device 112, and consequently, a potential change in location of endpoint device 110. The endpoint device 110 compares this current router address to a router address stored in the endpoint device 110.

While a variety of geographic identifiers may be contemplated, a specific example is an internet routing MAC address. Since an internet routing device's MAC address uniquely identifies the routing device, the internet routing device's MAC address is useful for determining when the endpoint device 110 has been connected to a different router. In another embodiment, the endpoint device 110 may request the WAN address of the router or the gateway of the local ISP. This WAN is typically an IP address that corresponds to the local ISP, and thus, a change in the WAN indicates that the endpoint device 110 has been moved. In an alternate embodiment, the endpoint device 110 may use both the MAC and WAN addresses when determining whether the endpoint device 110 has been moved. The remainder of this document refers to a MAC address for discussion purposes only and is not intended to limit the identifier used.

The router MAC address that was stored in the endpoint device's storage 120 was the router MAC address of the endpoint device 110 before the most recent power-up. Therefore, based upon the MAC address comparison, the endpoint device can determine whether it changed locations, e.g., via coupling to an internet routing device at a different network node, before the most recent power-up. After the router MAC address comparison is complete and before the endpoint device experiences another power-up, the current router MAC address is stored and replaces the previously-stored router MAC address to perpetuate the process. As discussed above, the WAN address of the local gateway may also be used (alone or in conjunction with the MAC address) to determine whether the endpoint device 110 has changed locations.

In another embodiment, further inspection can be performed upon the WAN address. For example, if the WAN address is within a certain subset of addresses, the WAN address of a subsequent node can be used. An example subset might include WAN addresses that correspond to a private range of addresses because private addresses are sometimes duplicated. For instance, two local networks in different locations might both use the private IP range of 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255. Examples of other private IP ranges include 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255, 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255 and 169.254.0.0 to 169.254.255.255. Thus, if the WAN address happens to be located within a certain subset of addresses, the VoIP device can obtain the WAN address of a subsequent node in a packet transmission path. This second WAN address can be used to determine whether the device has potentially changed locations.

When the location update circuit 122 performs the comparison and determines that the current router MAC address is not the same as the stored router MAC address, the endpoint device prompts the device's user to update the device's physical location data. The user enters the updated information via the endpoint device 110 and the location data is transmitted via the internet routing device 112 and the Internet 114 to the VoIP host server 116. The information may be entered audibly or by the user keying in the updated location information. The updated information is then available to emergency-service providers, e.g., 118, when a 911 VoIP call is placed from the endpoint device 110.

In other implementations, the endpoint device 110 has a display 124 where the user may key in the location data to a webpage. Examples of such endpoint devices are stationary computers, portable computers, video-phones, and web-enabled cellular phones. One such implementation includes the endpoint device redirecting a user to a webpage once the router address comparison indicates that the endpoint device 110 has moved. Another implementation includes the endpoint device redirecting a user attempting to place an outgoing call to a physical location data page for entry or verification of the location data before the outgoing call is permitted.

FIG. 2 shows a method for prompting a user to update the user's physical location with the user's VoIP service, according to another example embodiment. At block 210, the user's endpoint device, which can be, for example, a VoIP telephone, a standard telephone with an adapter, a computer (portable or stationary), or a cellular phone, determines that the device has been powered-up. The power-up may, for example, be a result of a power outage, a router reboot, or reconnection of the device after it was unplugged. At block 212, the device determines the current router address and compares this current router address with a router address that was previously stored in the device's non-volatile memory before power-up. This previously-stored router address was the endpoint device's previous router address prior to the power-up. The endpoint device compares the two router addresses to determine whether the current router address is the same as the previous router address at block 215. This comparison identifies whether the endpoint device has moved physical locations. If the router addresses are the same, the endpoint device determines that it has not moved to a different physical location; and therefore, no update of the physical location data is necessary. In contrast, if the router addresses are different, the endpoint device determines that it has moved to a different location which requires the user to provide the VoIP service with the new physical location data so that emergency services, if needed, are routed to the appropriate location.

If both addresses are the same, the endpoint device alters an indicator on the endpoint device at block 220 to signify to the user that their VoIP service is current, 911 emergency service is available, and no update of the physical location data is necessary. The indicator may, for example, be a light or LED that changes colors or changes a flashing cadence. The indicator could also be an audible or vibratory indicator.

If the router addresses are different, the endpoint device alerts the VoIP host server. The host server redirects outgoing calls to an interactive voice response (IVR) system to prompt the user to update the physical location at block 225. At block 225, the endpoint device also alters the endpoint indicator so that the user is alerted to the need to update the physical location before the user attempts to make an outgoing call. Another implementation includes redirecting the user to a webpage for entering the updated physical location data, such as when the endpoint device includes a display.

In one embodiment, the host server may also determine that the physical location information for one or more VoIP devices does not need to be updated even though the VoIP devices have indicated otherwise to the server. For example, if an administrator or ISP replaces a router that provides service to several VoIP devices, each of those devices may determine, after a power state transition, that their physical location has likely changed. The host server can be configured to detect that multiple VoIP devices have been affected by such a change and proactively determine that the physical location information does not need to be updated.

At block 230, the server determines whether the physical location data has been updated. If the address has been updated, the endpoint indicator is altered in the same manner as block 220 at block 235. If the address has not yet been updated, the endpoint indicator maintains the alert status at block 240 until the user updates the physical location data.

In another implementation, the endpoint device additionally sends the time the device powered-up, the uptime, to the VoIP server upon sensing a power-up. This may be sent in the header of an INVITE transmission. The server converts the uptime to an endpoint device start date (and optionally time) and compares the start date to the date that the physical location data was last updated. If the endpoint device start date is later than the location-update date, the user's physical location data likely needs to be updated. The intervening power-up task indicates that the endpoint device may have moved locations. As a result, outgoing calls are redirected to an IVR as discussed in connection with block 225. Outgoing calls may be redirected based upon the comparison of the start date to the date that the physical location data was last updated, the router addresses, or as a function of both comparisons. Once the physical location data is updated, or verified as being unchanged, the location-update date will also be updated. If the location-update date is later than the endpoint device start date, the server recognizes that the physical location data has already been updated and further updating is not required.

FIG. 3 shows an endpoint device 300 adapted to automatically prompt a VoIP user to update his or her physical location data according to another example embodiment. The endpoint device 300 works with a VoIP telephone service that allows calls to be made to, and received from, traditional phone numbers using a high-speed (broadband) Internet connection (i.e., DSL, cable modem, or broadband wireless technology). The VoIP endpoint device 300 is connected to the Internet 302 via a router 304 that has a MAC address. The endpoint device communicates with the router through a SIP conversion interface 306. The MAC router address is stored in non-volatile memory 308, which is controlled and accessed by a memory controller 310.

A power sensing circuit 312 detects when the endpoint device has experienced a power state transition, more specifically, when the device has experienced a power-up. The power sensing circuit 312 communicates these transitions to the memory controller 310 so that upon a power-down, the memory controller 310 stores the MAC router address in memory 308. Similarly, upon power-up, the memory controller 310 accesses memory 308 to provide the router MAC address to processing circuitry 320, which performs a comparison of the current MAC router address with the MAC router address that was stored in memory 308 upon power-down.

The endpoint device 300 also has a user interface 314 that can include, for example, a keypad, audio receiver, and a display screen. The endpoint device 300 also has audio circuitry 316 for receiving and transmitting audio. Further, the endpoint device has a router address update indicator 318. The indicator 318 is preferably a visual indicator in the form of a light or LED. The indicator 318 may change colors depending on the status of the physical location data or preferably flashes at difference cadences to indicate the status. For example, a LED could slowly blink when the server is searching for an IP address, remain steady when no emergency service is available (such as at locations outside the United States), blink quickly when the physical location data needs to be updated as determined by the endpoint device, and pulse at two quick blinks every other second when the physical location data is up-to-date and the VoIP service is current and functional.

While certain aspects of the present invention have been described with reference to several particular example embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Aspects of the invention are set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a plurality of user-endpoint devices, each user-endpoint device including circuitry to communicate packet-based data wirelessly over a wide area network (WAN) and each user-endpoint device being susceptible to changing its location within the WAN; a data-communications server to initiate VoIP calls, as part of a data-communications service, involving a respective one of the plurality of user-endpoint devices over a packet transmission path that includes a routing node, the data-communications server including circuitry to receive the packet-based data and further including processing circuitry to assess whether a physical location associated with the respective one of the plurality of user-endpoint devices (“the endpoint device”) is appropriate by: each of the data-communications server and the endpoint device storing respective identifiers corresponding to packet-based communications through which the respective one of the plurality of user-endpoint devices communicates; and outputting data, via the data-communications server and in response to an indication of a power state transition for the endpoint device, based on an appropriateness determination associated with an assessment of whether to update a physical location for the endpoint device and based on a comparison of a first stored identifier and a second stored identifier respectively corresponding to a time before the power state transition and a time after the power state transition.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry of the endpoint device is to: obtain an identifier corresponding to a subsequent packet-based communication device for user-endpoint communications after detection of the power state transition in response to the comparison indicating that the first stored identifier and the second stored identifier match.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further to: output an indication that a physical location update is appropriate for the respective one of the plurality of user-endpoint devices in response to the comparison indicating that the first stored identifier and the second stored identifier do not match.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the identifiers for each of the plurality of user-endpoint devices are determined based on at least one of a media access control (MAC) address, an internet protocol (IP) address, and a wide area network (WAN) address.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the identifiers for each of the plurality of user-endpoint devices are determined based on a combination of a media access control (MAC) address, and a wide area network (WAN) address.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the circuitry of the endpoint device is to determine that a user-endpoint device has changed physical location in response to the comparison indicating that the WAN address of the second stored identifier does not match the WAN address of the first stored identifier.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the circuitry of the endpoint device is to determine that the MAC address of the second stored identifier matches the MAC address of the first stored identifier.
 8. The system of claim 5, wherein the circuitry of the endpoint device is to determine that a user-endpoint device has changed physical location in response to the comparison indicating that the MAC address of the second stored identifier does not match the MAC address of the first stored identifier.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the circuitry of the endpoint device is to determine that the WAN address of the second stored identifier matches the WAN address of the first stored identifier.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is to determine that the endpoint device has changed physical location in response to the comparison indicating a portion of the second stored identifier does not match a portion of the first stored identifier.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry of the endpoint device is further to send an indication of a time of a detected power state transition and to generate a request to update physical location data.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further to generate a request to update physical location data by directing communications to a physical location update interface provided by the data-communications server.
 13. The system of claim 1, further including an interactive voice response subsystem, and wherein the processing circuitry is to redirect outgoing calls to the interactive voice response subsystem in response to the endpoint device providing an indication of a change of physical location.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is to redirect outgoing calls to an interactive voice response subsystem in response to the endpoint device providing an indication of a change of physical location.
 15. A system comprising: a plurality of user-endpoint devices, each user-endpoint device including circuitry to communicate packet-based data wirelessly over a wide area network (WAN) and each user-endpoint device being susceptible to changing its location within the WAN; a data-communications server to initiate VoIP calls, as part of a data-communications service, involving a respective one of the plurality of user-endpoint devices over a packet transmission path that includes a routing node, the data-communications server including processing circuitry to assess whether a physical location associated with the respective one of the plurality of user-endpoint devices (“the endpoint device”) is appropriate by: each of the data-communications server and the endpoint device storing respective identifiers corresponding to packet-based communications through which the respective one of the plurality of user-endpoint devices communicates; and an assessment of data from the data-communications server and in response to an indication of a power state transition for the endpoint device, for an appropriateness determination indicating whether a physical location stored for the endpoint device is appropriate or whether the physical location should be updated; and a user interface circuit, integrated with the data-communications server, to prompt the endpoint device to update physical location data associated for use by the data-communications server, wherein the processing circuitry is to indicate that services provided by the data-communications server are current in response to the appropriateness determination by the processing circuitry that the endpoint device has not changed physical location, after the circuitry of the user-endpoint device indicates that there is a likelihood of the physical location having changed.
 16. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is to redirect the user-endpoint device to a webpage for entering updated physical location data, in response to the indication corresponding to a changed physical location.
 17. A computer-implement method for use in a system having a plurality of user-endpoint devices, each user-endpoint device including circuitry to communicate packet-based data wirelessly over a wide area network (WAN) and each user-endpoint device being susceptible to changing its location within the WAN, the method comprising: via a data-communications server, initiating VoIP calls as part of a data-communications service involving a respective one of the plurality of user-endpoint devices over a packet transmission path that includes a routing node, and assessing whether a physical location associated with the respective one of the plurality of user-endpoint devices (“the endpoint device”) is appropriate by the data-communications server: relying on each of the data-communications server and the endpoint device storing respective identifiers corresponding to packet-based communications through which the respective one of the plurality of user-endpoint devices communicates; and outputting data, in response to an indication of a power state transition for the endpoint device, based on a determination of whether an update for a physical location stored for the endpoint device is appropriate, wherein the determination is based on an assessment of a plurality of factors including: location-identifying data associated with the endpoint device before and after a power state transition for the endpoint device, and other data which does not identify the location of the endpoint device.
 18. The method of claim 17, further including the data-communications server detecting that each of multiple ones of the user-endpoint devices have been affected by a power-state-transition change and determining that physical location data linked to the physical location does not need to be updated.
 19. The method of claim 17, further including the data-communications server detecting that a physical location for one of the user-endpoint devices has already been updated after being notified of a power state transition. 